‘Why don’t you tell us the whole story,’ Callum said, hoping to move things on. ‘From start to finish – without interruptions.’ He eyed Alistar, who blinked repeatedly.

Elvie laid out the truth for them, as simply as she could. Starting with the day, she described where she was, what she was doing on the beach – the memories remained startlingly clear, perhaps etched from the trauma of separation.

‘And I fell as if my shadow swallowed me up. Stars whirled around me faster and faster until it all became a blur – and next thing I knew, I was in a forest where I saw the Elder tree.’

Alistar’s eyes bulged, the whites becoming a sea upon his face as he dove for a pen and paper to write things down. ‘Give me all the details. Describe the forest.’

She talked him through the mass of trees growing there, with all the different species. Elvie was no specialist, but on reflection, they were very similar to the Great Houses.

It sent Alistar into a fit – hands ringing wildly, he leapt to his feet and scampered to the bookshelf, throwing old and priceless books around like they were nothing more than paperweights. He appeared to find the heavily worn book he wanted, and carefully pried open the pages to read.

‘Through the vale joining worlds, life blossoms and towers. The roots of the Great bind and twist deep into all. Seek the pathway through the Elder ones, seek the path and avail yourself of the Great – let it decide your journey and your fate. – Porvin Helperin’

He flicked onwards through the book. ‘And this one, it’s oddly religious, but…’

‘Ye who seek, let the Lord bless

Become entwined with nature’s caress

Devotion kindled within thy blood

For revelation, welcome the flood.’

Elvie interrupted. ‘I touched a tree – that could be nature’s caress… and it felt weird.’

‘You touched an Elder tree, in a forest where you’d magically transported yourself? By all the Saints! Do you know what this means? Do you have any clue?’ Excitement filled Callum and Alistar – Rilla hadn’t moved past her shock yet.

Elvie shook her head.

Callum replied. ‘For a long time, everyone has believed it to be a myth, or perhaps a foundational story, something like the Garden of Eden. Once, it was thought the connections to the Great Houses were more than a mere representation, that there were actual trees a magician would bind themselves to. But there was always a problem with that line of thought. What forest were these old books talking about? Nobody knew, nor could they consult anyone from Elder, as the text references – so we assumed them to be folk tales, another story amongst all the lost knowledge. Many magicians wandered the forests of the world hoping… but no, nothing was ever found.’

Alistar’s voice rose wildly again. ‘Wait! Wait! I need paper - and pens. I want it written. Every word, every thought, every feeling. I don’t care if you describe how your collar was pressed tight against your neck. I need everything!’ Alistar ran from the room to search. ‘Goodwin! Goodwin!’ His yelling echoed down the hallways. ‘Can you please bring some bread and drinks? We may be up for some time!’

It was not how Elvie had imagined the night would play out. Instead of confusion and unfathomable teaching, she wrote out the most meticulous and detailed notes she’d ever completed in her life. Even the most minor of minor statements, like which way was the wind blowing? Where was she looking? How were her hands placed? What items was she carrying? Endless strange questions from Alistar and Callum, where each answer was jotted down on their growing number of pages.’

When her eyes finally reached the point of drooping, Alistar pulled sheaves of paper to his chest and exclaimed: ‘This is splendid. What a blessing this night is. You’re a blessing! I will study tomorrow… today? Then we’ll meet again, yes?’ He didn’t wait for an answer but turned to his lounge and poured straight into re-reading his notes.

Callum was calmer, even if many of his dreams had come true. ‘Elvie, be a dear will you, and flick those stale bits of bread to the birds – they’ll eat them in the morning.’

Elvie nodded.

‘And get some sleep. Alistar will likely have more questions. I’ll have to talk to him about not working you to death, you know.’

She made her way through the warren-like passages with Rilla silently following, and opened a sliding window to throw the scraps out into the deep silence of the night. During the meeting, Rilla had been strangely quiet.

‘Everything okay?’ Elvie asked her.

‘I – ’

‘Get back!’ A hiss erupted in Elvie’s mind, causing her to jerk back the arm halfway across the threshold of the window. She stumbled back into Rilla to cut off her reply.

‘What’s wrong?’ Rilla’s worry was evident.

That voice again – the warnings were so strong. Was her subconscious talking to her? Wasn’t that what it meant to go crazy?

Elvie looked through the window into the night beyond – and there she saw it.

The stones, the exact stones she swore were lumbering upright not long ago. It was the same collection of boulders from earlier in the night that had been chasing her.

No. No. No!

She lunged back to the window and slammed it closed, pinning the lock across the latch with a resounding thud. Then, peering back through the glass, she tried to keep an eye on the rocks, to see what they were doing. If they came any closer, perhaps she should start yelling for help?

But no, there was nothing to see but darkness. Not rocks, not even trees. Perhaps the moon had drifted behind a cloud.

Calm down, Elvie, she told herself. Take deep breaths. Relax. The house has wards; they’ll keep you safe.

Out loud, she weakly told Rilla: ‘I’m tired, that’s all. Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll be along in a minute – I forgot to tell Callum one thing.’

She returned to Alistar’s study, thinking to find them there, but they’d since left. She had the same result when she wandered on slightly shaky legs to Callum’s room.

Elvie was tired. Perhaps it was just a hallucination – maybe her second for the night. She sat down on the fireside lounge to wait for Callum’s return. She’d wait for him and tell him all about the stone thing that was following her – maybe the voice too. Why not tell him everything, and make him truly understand? That made sense.

She fell soundly asleep instead.